Claude Gay
Encyclopedia
Claude Gay, real name : Claudio Gay Mouret (born March 18, 1800 in Draguignan
- November 29, 1873), was a French botanist, naturalist and illustrator.
The Cordillera de Claudio Gay in the Atacama Region
of Chile
is named after him.
This explorer realized first searching enquiry about Chilean flora, fauna, geology and geography.
In 1828, he went to Chile
to teach physics and natural history in a college in Santiago. In 1830, he accepted to become a researcher for the Chilean government.
He came back to France in 1832, and gave his collections to the Muséum national d'histoire naturelle de Paris (French National museum of natural history).
He returned to Chile in 1834 and explored again the country for four years. After having visited Peru
in 1839, he lived in Santiago, where he drew up his Historia fisica y politica de Chile. This book was published by the Chilean government between 1844 and 1871.
In 1841, before coming back to France, Chile conferred the Chilean nationality to him.
In 1863, he went to Chile for the last time.
Draguignan
Draguignan is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, in southeastern France.It is a sub-prefecture of the department and self-proclaimed "capital of Artillery" and "Porte du Verdon".The city is only from St...
- November 29, 1873), was a French botanist, naturalist and illustrator.
The Cordillera de Claudio Gay in the Atacama Region
Atacama Region
The Atacama Region is one of Chile's 15 first order administrative divisions. It comprises three provinces, Chañaral, Copiapó and Huasco. It is bordered to the north by Antofagasta, to the south by Coquimbo, to east with Provinces of Catamarca, La Rioja and San Juan of Argentina, and to west with...
of Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
is named after him.
This explorer realized first searching enquiry about Chilean flora, fauna, geology and geography.
A researcher
Came to Paris to study medicine, he quickly left this idea to become a researcher in natural history.In 1828, he went to Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
to teach physics and natural history in a college in Santiago. In 1830, he accepted to become a researcher for the Chilean government.
He came back to France in 1832, and gave his collections to the Muséum national d'histoire naturelle de Paris (French National museum of natural history).
He returned to Chile in 1834 and explored again the country for four years. After having visited Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
in 1839, he lived in Santiago, where he drew up his Historia fisica y politica de Chile. This book was published by the Chilean government between 1844 and 1871.
In 1841, before coming back to France, Chile conferred the Chilean nationality to him.
In 1863, he went to Chile for the last time.
Honours
- Titular of the French Légion d'honneurLégion d'honneurThe Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
;
- Correspondent member of the Muséum national d'histoire naturelleMuséum national d'histoire naturelleThe Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle is the National Museum of Natural History in Paris, France.- History :The museum was formally founded on 10 June 1793, during the French Revolution...
(Paris) ;
- Elected at the French Académie des sciences in 1856.
Sources
- Marie-Louise Bauchot, Jacques Daget & Roland Bauchot, « Ichthyology in France at the Beginning of the 19th Century : The “Histoire Naturelle des Poissons“ of Cuvier (1769–1832) and Valenciennes (1794–1865) » in Collection building in ichthyology and herpetology, T.W.Pietsch, W.D.Anderson (dir.), American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, 1997 : 27-80.
Works
- Noticias sobre las islas de Juan Fernandez, Valparaiso, 1840
- Historia física y política de Chile, Paris, 1844–1848
- Origine de la pomme de terre, Paris, 1851
- Atlas de la historia física y política de Chile, Paris, 1854
- Triple variation de l'aiguille d'amiante dans les parties Ouest de l'Amerique, Paris, 1854
- Carte générale du Chili, Paris, 1855
- Considérations sur les mines du Pérou, comparées aux mines du Chili, Paris, 1855
- Notes sur le Brasil, Buenos Ayres, et Rio de Janeiro, Paris, 1856
- Rapport à l'académie des sciences sur les mines des États-Unis, Paris, 1861